Thursday, 17 May 2007

The Bendy Bus Blight

Two days ago, as I walked along Southampton Row en route to Spink, I chanced upon an immense, snaking traffic jam, in all directions, at the intersection of High Holborn and Kingsway. Two police vans had been positioned so as to block access to the intersection and no fewer than 6 policemen stood in the street. My first reaction was to suspect a road accident or some ghastly terrorist or other criminal incident; however upon hearing the familiar "beep beep beep" that accompanies the reversing of a bus I realised the source of the mayhem: one of the bendy buses had been trying, unsuccessfully, to turn right from Kingsway into Holborn. I do not know how long the driver had been attempting this manouever (quite some time considering the circus) however I stood witness to the final 5 minutes of painful reversing and driving forward. Eventually the driver gave up and drove straight on into Southampton Row. As I passed this ridiculous scene I overheard one of the policemen explain the situation to a gawping tourist: "These buses were not designed for London's streets".

Another example of the sheer lunacy of the contemptible decision to replace London's beloved Routemaster.